Turkey lifts outdoor mask mandate, contact tracing code requirement

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As the coronavirus seems to be receding, Turkiye has lifted its requirement to wear a mask outdoors, a longtime requirement to stem the spread of Covid-19, Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca has said.

"We no longer have to wear masks outdoors," Koca told reporters following a meeting of the country's committee on the fight against the virus, the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

Koca also said that if ventilation is sufficient in closed environments and social distancing rules can be followed, it is "no longer necessary" to wear a mask indoors either.

However, the minister added, "We are not removing masks from our lives, we carry them with us to wear when necessary."

In another change, the use of HES codes – Turkey's coronavirus contact tracing system – has been lifted, and the public will no longer have to show their code at the entrance to any building or event, said Koca. (HA/VK)